Wednesday, February 22, 2017

The Free FamilyWize Prescription Discount Card makes
life-saving medications more affordable – including statins. When it comes to
prescription medications, there are few drugs as necessary to people of all
ages as statins, a class of lipid-lowering medications, created with the
intention of lowering cholesterol and increasing heart health.

Throughout the 20th century, the field of medical science
noted an exponential increase in the number of people whose cause of death was
from some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD). By the 1960s, drug companies,
doctors, and researchers across the globe were looking for a way to determine
who was at risk for CVD and how to treat it or prevent it.

Today, the medical world is aware of the link between high
cholesterol and heart disease, but this wasn’t always the case. In 1971, Akira
Endo, a biochemist from Japan, began searching for a drug that could lower
cholesterol. Endo identified mevastatin and performed tests over the next
several years, leading to interest from pharmaceutical giant Merck, despite not
yet knowing the major benefits of lowering cholesterol.

Mevastatin was never approved for human trials, but the
company developed other statins including Zocor and Mevacor. As late as the
1980s, cardiologists remained largely unconvinced that reducing cholesterol
could have any significant impact on reducing CVD. It wasn’t until 1994, when
Merck sponsored a massive study involving nearly 4,500 patients that the
medical world was convinced. The study concluded that those who used statins
saw a 35% decrease in cholesterol and were 42% less likely to suffer a fatal
heart attack.

Just one year after the study was published, Merck reported
$1 billion in sales on their cholesterol-lowering drugs. Akira Endo received
the Japan Prize in 2006 for his research and was inducted into the National
Inventors Hall of Fame.

Now, more than 20 years after the landmark study was
published, statins are among the most necessary medications in the world for
the part they play in keeping hearts healthy. Research into the efficacy of statins
continues today, as researchers test their effect on lung cancer, cataracts,
hypertension, and other ailments.

The Free FamilyWize Prescription Discount Card has helped
more than ten million people save on their prescriptions, including statins.
Are you still paying full price? Get
your card (or app) and start saving today.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

At FamilyWize, we
make it a point to help people save money on the things that they need to stay
healthy. We know, more than most, the value of doctors and medications, but
medical professionals everywhere agree that diet and exercise are two of the
biggest factors in living a longer, happier life.

With that in mind, we’re sharing five exercises geared for
people over 60.

1. Swimming

Among the best cardio that anyone can do, this
full-body exercise can help get your heart rate up to an optimal level without
aggravating most bone or joint issues. Swimming is a low-impact aerobic
exercise that builds lean muscle and is great for maintaining a fast metabolism
and functional strength without the need to quell joint pain afterwards.

2. Biking

Biking is another low-impact exercise that builds stamina
and allows you to exercise all-year round by switching between a stationary
bicycle and the great outdoors.

3. Walking

Although seemingly the least exciting of exercises, going for a 20-30 minute
walk a few times a week can have a surprising effect on your health. Getting
your heart rate slightly elevated and then keeping it there for a sustained
amount of time causes the body to torch fat -- an excellent reason to go smell
the roses.

4. Rowing

A full-body exercise that can give you a good sweat in just a few minutes.
Rowing uses the whole body, building more functional strength and flexibility.
It is important, however, to remember that by sacrificing form or attempting to
go too fast, it’s easy to harm the lower back. Take this motion slow and
steady.

5.Yoga

The movements and stances can be difficult at first, but they pay dividends.
Yoga has a major focus on balance, one of the biggest concerns for people above
age 60. The practice also increases flexibility, which means that you’re less
likely to sprain a joint or tear a muscle. Nowadays, yoga classes are available
at most gyms at a multitude of different levels, so there’s no reason not to
give one a try.

Many of these exercises can be done at the gym. Although
some gym memberships can be pricey, you can pick one up with all the money
you’ll be saving by using the Free FamilyWize Prescription Discount Card. Get
yours here.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

In our new “Ask an Expert” Blog Series, Ken Majkowski,
Pharm.D and Chief Pharmacy Officer at FamilyWize, addresses some of
the most common questions consumers have when it comes to prescription drugs
and drug costs. Ken brings more than 40 years of healthcare experience to the
FamilyWize team, including 14 years of clinical pharmacy experience in retail,
hospital, and home care. Read his full bio here.

Patients are often unsure about the differences between generic
drugs and brand name drugs. Let’s address the basics.

First and foremost, it is important to
understand that brand name drugs have a generic name as well. When a brand name
drug goes off patent, another manufacturer can make a generic equivalent of
that drug. There are also therapeutic equivalent drugs, which are made of different
chemicals, but work similarly to each other.

For example, Lipitor is a heavily advertised drug used to treat high
cholesterol. Lipitor is the drug’s brand name.

Atorvastatin (a TOR vas ta tin) is the
generic name. Since Lipitor lost its patent, several other drug companies now
make a generic equivalent of Lipitor. That means the FDA requires the generic
equivalent to have the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form, and route
of administration as the brand name product. They are almost identical (other
than possibly some inactive ingredients). Generic Atorvastatin has been proven
to be bioequivalent to Lipitor and should work just as well as the brand
name product.

Mevacor, on the other
hand, does not have a generic equivalent. It is considered to be a therapeutic
equivalent of Lipitor. A therapeutic equivalent drug may be in the same class
of drugs and may treat the same condition in much the same way, but it is made
up of different chemicals.

Why does this distinction matter? When
you give your pharmacist a prescription written by your doctor, it is
considered both safe and legal for your pharmacist to dispense a generic equivalent
drug for the brand name drug named on the prescription (**unless your doctorspecifically
says not to**). And that is a good thing, because sometimes the cost of a generic equivalent drug is 80
to 85 percent lower than the brand name product. So you will get a product that
is proven to work just as effectively as the brand name drug for significantly
less money.

However, your pharmacist cannot
dispense a therapeutically equivalent drug in place of a brand name drug. Using
our example, if you have a prescription for Lipitor, your pharmacist may offer
you generic Atorvastatin, but you would need a new prescription from your
doctor if you wanted to switch to Mevacor.

As a patient, you can rest assured that
generics are safe. Generic drug recalls
are rare, and the FDA closely regulates generic drug producers to protect us
from quality issues and adverse effects. For more information, check out the FDA’s website here.

By saving your family’s prescription
drug information in one place, you’ll be able to make informed decisions about
the best way to fill your family’s prescriptions – without having to call or
visit multiple pharmacies or conduct multiple online searches. The end result?
You save valuable time and money.

Save Time and Money By Managing Your Prescription Research
In One Place

Imagine “Sarah”, a working mother who juggles the healthcare purchases for
herself, her husband, and their daughter, who was born with a heart condition. After
her daughter’s most recent check-up, Sarah logs into the FamilyWize Medicine
Cabinet.

She updates the dosage information on her
daughter’s existing medication. Then she searches to check
the price on a new drug prescribed by her
daughter’s cardiologist. She discovers that it is fairly pricey at their
current pharmacy, but she can save some money by going to a different pharmacy
a few miles farther from home.

She saves that drug into the Medicine Cabinet
and decides to see how much money she can save overall by switching to the new
pharmacy.

With just a few clicks, Sarah can see
if the cumulative cost of the prescriptions will be lower at the new pharmacy
verses their existing pharmacy – without ever leaving her desk or picking up
the phone.

Sarah can also update her family’s
saved information as often as needed, such as when she switches jobs and wants
to check the prices at pharmacies closer to her new office. And, of course, she
can quickly and easily download the FamilyWize app or print a FamilyWize card to
make sure she is saving as much money as possible on her family’s prescription
drug costs.

We Created Medicine Cabinet Because We Care

Over the past 12 years, FamilyWize has
worked hard to help families better manage their prescription drug costs. Have questions about how to use the Medicine
Cabinet? Visit our “How It Works”
page for everything you need to get started. If you still have questions or any
general feedback you’d like to share, please email us at support@familywize.org. We love to hear from you!